Bad guy enters store, spills gasoline on the floor, gives the clerk time to react then sets the place on fire.
This one would be good for the USCCA YouTube channel. Man Lights Detroit Gas Station On Fire, Worker Gets 1st Degree Burns - Videos - VidMaxViral.com
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I think you eliminate the threat.
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Welcome
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Welcome aboard sir. Great first post. Once the guy shows a flame source, defeat the threat. He just demonstrated his intent to threaten your life.
Great question
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Hello and welcome @Thomas466
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Thank you everyone for the warm welcome.
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‘Leaded!’
Welcome Thomas Foe-sixx-sixx! Excellent first post Sir!
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As long as the fire doesn’t trap anyone inside, escape through the rear door.
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That’s definitely a tough one. At first I would have said it’s just property so no. But the speed at which that fire went ablaze was super fast. If you shoot before the fire is lit, I think you have a hard time justifying it…but man…that was bad.
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Welcome
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That’s a tough call. Seems like his torch may have already been lit? If that’s the case and you shoot him he likely drops the torch and the fire starts anyway even if his intent had been to just threaten to start the fire and not to actually start it if he got what he wanted.
Don’t think it was already lit.The vapor cloud that asshat was standing in probably would have went up with him in it.I think that would qualify as self defense here.Dont know about Detroit though.
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It’s been awhile since I used a hand torch. Do they have push button starters now? The kind I used you had to use a separate striker to get it going and it didn’t appear that he did that.
But there were a couple of occasions where he got very close to the gas on the floor without it lighting. So it may not have been lit or maybe he just got lucky and it didn’t ignite before he wanted it to?
Yea I’ve got a peizo lit push button one.As close as he was pretty sure he would have been nuked.
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That is a handy feature.
In that case the decision to shoot might be a little easier if you know the torch isn’t lit. Though he could still respond by pushing the button and dropping the torch to cover his getaway when he sees you draw or even after being shot. So it is not a risk free decision.
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One I believe ide take in that situation.
Dumping gasoline inside of an establishment then standing there with a spark/flame producing device
That’s a real stretch.
So if I walk into the Cafe draw a firearm and rack it then tell you to hand over your wallet…
I’m guessing the guy was too stupid to realize the danger he was in, standing there over all that gasoline. Gasoline vapors can go up just from a static spark.
Once when I was young and stupid(er) than I am now, I had an almost-terrible experience with gasoline vapors. I had a big brush pile in the middle of an empty lot that I needed to burn. It was a little wet, and wouldn’t light, so being young and stupid, I took a 2 gallon gas can and dumped about, maybe a half cup of gasoline in a small area of the pile. I took the can about 30’ away and set it down. I then went back and flicked a lit match at the gas-soaked area. Whoomph! Instantly, an invisible trail of vapor leading right back to the can exploded into flames, and immediately there were flames coming out the spout of the nearly full gas can that had been 30’ from my lit match! Fortunately for me the vapors burned off and the can didn’t go up, but it was a real lesson in the volitility of gasoline vapors. It turns out that humidity can increase the vapor concentration and make them even more volitile.
If someone dumped a bunch of gasoline in a closed space where I am, the last thing I’d consider is lighting off a round or two from my gun.
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A lot of criminals threaten to use violence. Quite a few of them don’t follow through with their threats. So it becomes our decision to decide whether using violence in response to their threat is the safest/best bet for eliminating the threat and getting everyone safely out of the situation.
Dealing with a drawn gun and this situation where gas has been spilled on the floor actually seem fairly similar to me. In both cases the criminal has the drop on us with their weapon already deployed. So we have to decide whether compliance, deescalation or force are the best responses. If we choose force we then need to hope for a window of opportunity to deploy and use our weapons before they can use theirs.
Another thing to consider is with all the gas fumes in the air would a gunshot ignite the fire anyways?
With no sound in this video I don’t know what this guy was after and how I would have read how serious he was about lighting the fire. So I’m not sure when or if I would have reacted with force.
My response also would have depended on how much I thought myself and others in the store were at risk of physical harm. That fire was a little more aggressive than I would have expected but if everyone was far enough back and had a route to escape I may not have thought the threat of serious bodily harm was high enough to risk a forceful response.
Lots of variables to have to make split second decisions on. Defensive force isn’t always the best choice. Though in hindsight given that the guy did light the fire it may have been in this case. Fortunately the employee only suffered minor burns.
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Dunno said the attendant got out with first degree burns.So I’m taking it he didn’t get nuked.The imminent threat thing from another thread pretty much says it all.This sociopath isn’t done.Even if they caught him he isn’t done.200 grain HST in his forehead he is done.Wont ever set anyone else on fire